Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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In a February 24 letter to members of Congress, the chairmen of the US bishops’ Committees on Religious Liberty and Migration urged Congress to enact laws to ensure “respect for what are commonly referred to as sensitive locations, especially houses of worship, such that immigration enforcement efforts are avoided at or near these locations, absent exigent circumstances.”

Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon, and Bishop Brendan Cahill of Victoria, Texas, also called on Congress to ensure “consistent access to religious and pastoral services for all immigration detainees, subject only to reasonable limitations based on clear guidelines and uniform processes, regardless of a detention facility’s operator.”

Eighteen bishops “in border states and beyond” issued a brief text, “Recommended Reforms to Immigration Enforcement in the United States,” on February 24.

The recommended reforms include “the right to apply for asylum at the border should be honored,” “sensitive locations should be protected,” and “immigration enforcement should not focus on those who are contributing to the nation.”

Two former prefects of Vatican dicasteries urged the Society of Saint Pius X not to proceed with its plans to ordain bishops without papal approval.

“Can one who abandons the Chair of Peter still claim to be within the Church of Christ?” said Cardinal Robert Sarah, 80, the prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 to 2021.

“The only solution possible in conscience before God is for the Society of Saint Pius X ... to recognize our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV as the legitimate Pope not only in theory but also in practice, and to submit to his teaching authority and his primacy of jurisdiction without preconditions,” added Cardinal Gerhard Müller, 78, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017.